Isle of Coll

Arinagour, Coll’s only village, sits at the head of Loch Eatharna on the east coast, and this is where the CalMac ferry from Oban comes in. There are more than 30 sandy beaches. Crossapol in the south-west is the biggest, backed by large dunes, with Feall Bay a mirror image just across a narrow neck of land to the north. On the west coast, Hogh Bay lies below Ben Hogh, the highest point at 106 metres, where a big boulder is perched on a few smaller stones near the top. The RSPB reserve at the west end looks after corncrakes, secretive birds with a rasping call best heard on spring and summer evenings. Near Loch Breachacha are two privately owned castles, a 15th-century Maclean stronghold restored in the 1960s and the ‘new’ castle of 1750, where Samuel Johnson and James Boswell stayed in 1773. Coll has no street lights and has been an official Dark Sky Community since 2013, so a clear night is worth staying up for.